An Eighth Shot of Espresso: Coffee and Creativity on Mum's Third Shift

Pressure on my shoulders  I cannot breathe as  the gravity of life  crushes my will  and causes my bones  to crack in tiny places  this is not only encouraged it is accepted as the way it has always been they teach me a trick  to accept the burden  and carry it lightly  for the willow bends  and does not break even as gale-force winds rip the ground away all around it.

What do you do when you realize you're not enjoying  what  you do? I love to write. I've been writing since I was eight years old. Words gave me a way to express how I felt as a girl who was leaving friends behind. Forty-four years later, I still put my thoughts on paper or the screen. It's more than just a way of life. It  is  my life. I post my writing on my social media accounts. I have poetry blogs on Blogger and Wordpress. Over the years, I've met so many good friends and fellow writers through sharing my words. I appreciate every one who I've met. The support we give each other has carried me through some dark times of my life. For those who don't know, two of my three children are high-support autistic. Terminology and descriptors have changed in two decades, but my kids are unique in their own special ways. Although I love them, their care can be complicated and stressful, especially without outside help. That stress as a caregiver can bleed into other a...

Build a bridge over the crevasse  between us  Every attempt  the bricks too brittle  the mortar falls apart  The iron rusts quickly  the foundation crumbles  the joints wear away  Renovation plans hastily made all fail in their complexity Sometimes it takes a simple bamboo path  to span this gap

A whirlwind of obsession:  raw and uninhibited  feral and untamed  the pursuit, the chase  is what pushes you higher  the thrill of the forbidden  makes your heart pound faster  The goal comes closer then seems to drift away farther As long as the goal is unreachable  you fingers will always strive to touch.

In my dream house  so many books on tables and  scattered on the carpet hard backed and soft covers a rainbow of colors and cream colored pages that whisper the secrets hidden in their letters  and a secret lever  on the shelf leads to a secret nook  where I can read  in heavenly quiet and in blissful pleasure

unalloyed emotions  simple and pure  no complications raw and unvarnished Anger without regret  sorrow without guilt  happiness without fear such unfettered reactions without interference from other's opinions oh, to be a child  and experience that again!